This is a summary of Richard Nisbett's book 'The Geography of Thought' which seeks to explain the cultural differences between 'eastern' and 'western' ways of thinking.
This is a link to an article in the Guardian Newspaper, UK with photographs of photos and comments in 14 classrooms around the world. There is a book called Classroom Portraits by Julian Germain who has taken the photographs.
Could be a great starting discussion on cultural differences in the classroom... every picture tells a story.